E-Newsletter November 2007 #2

Here is your update on TACA (Talk About Curing Autism). If you are new to our site... WELCOME! This newsletter is produced two to four times each month.

We are an autism education and support group. We want to make this e-newsletter informative for you. As always, email your thoughts and/or questions so we can improve it.

We focus on parent information and support, parent mentoring, dietary intervention, the latest in medical research, special education law, reviews of the latest treatments, and many other topics relating to autism. Our main goal is to build our community so we can connect, share and support each other.

Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) provides general information of interest to the autism community. The information comes from a variety of sources and TACA does not independently verify any of it. The views expressed herein are not necessarily TACA’s.

In this edition:

1. Three Special Fundraisers for TACA
2. TACA 3rd Annual Adopt a Family and Medical Grants announcement
3. TACA Group Meetings
4. Jenny McCarthy – TACA Spokesperson – in the News
5. General News
  1. American Academy of Pediatrics update the Standards of Care for AUTISM! (First time in over 6 years!)
  2. TACA in the News: 4th Annual Family Picnic
  3. Mother fights for autism services & Agency Shows Pattern – updates from Yvette Cabrera
  4. Scientists make gut-brain connection to autism
  5. Regional Center Orange County: New Announcement for Families affected by autism
  6. New California DDS Autism Statistics
6. Vaccine News
  1. Flu Vaccine Information from Safe Minds
  2. More from David Kirby
  3. More from Dan Olmsted
  4. Neurological Problems Not Linked to Thimerosal, Study Says
  5. Read this before you get a flu shot
7. Frequently Valued Information (FVI)
8. Upcoming TACA Fun Activities
9. Video & Audio Links
10. Vendor Announcements
11. Books & Web Sites
12. TACA Volunteer Opportunities
13. Conferences, Workshops & Seminars
14. Personal Note: Life After Jenny McCarthy

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1 Three Special Fundraisers for TACA
Legoland + Jenny McCarthy + TACA = HOPE      MEDIA ADVISORY

Actress Jenny McCarthy Brings Attention to Autism at Legoland California’s Tree Lighting Ceremony

Family theme park plans to donate to TACA in McCarthy’s honor  

WHAT: Actress, comedienne, best-selling author and mother, Jenny McCarthy is this year’s special guest at LEGOLAND California’s fifth annual LEGO Tree Lighting Ceremony dedicated to autism.

Families throughout San Diego County whose children are affected by autism will be special guests as LEGOLAND California presents a special check donation to Talking About Curing Autism (TACA), an organization that provides information, resources, and support to families throughout California affected by autism.

McCarthy’s five-year-old son, Evan, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2005 and is the focus of her fourth best-selling book, Louder than Words – A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism. Evan will join his mother and Santa as they pull the switch to illuminate the 30-foot tall LEGO tree. Once the one-of-a-kind tree is lit, a dazzling display of fireworks lights up the sky and snow showers Park guests from above.

WHEN: Monday, November 26, 2007 5:30 p.m. – Tree Lighting Ceremony begins

Interview opportunities can be arranged for post/prior ceremony

WHERE: LEGOLAND California, Carlsbad

Please call for directions to media entrance

DETAILS: Visuals include: Santa arriving with Jenny McCarthy, McCarthy speaking about her son’s journey with autism,  families affected by autism wearing Santa hats in the audience, a stilt-walking toy soldier, LEGOLAND snow and of course, the world’s largest LEGO Holiday  tree.

More than 245,000 forest green DUPLO® bricks click together to create this one-of-a-kind holiday tree at LEGOLAND California. Adorned with more than 240 LEGO ornaments and 100 LEGO holiday candles, this LEGO brick tree towers over the main entrance of the 128-acre family theme park in Carlsbad.

Autism is a devastating neurological disorder that typically affects children between the ages of 18 months and five years of age and strikes with different levels of severity. According to TACA, currently, autism affects one in 150 children nationwide and in California, twelve are diagnosed each day. TACA provides support, education, and information to more than 3,000 California families touched by autism. Through direct donations and events, the organization is able to offer monthly education and support meetings in eight locations, parent mentoring, the TACA Autism Journey Guide, as well as seminars and conferences.

The new spokesperson for families affected by autism, McCarthy is reaching out nationally to help families affected by the disorder by sharing her personal story. A successful comedienne, host, actress and author, McCarthy currently lives in Los Angeles with her son, Evan. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Crystal Kranz, 760-918-5412

Under the Tuscan Moon

Fall Fashion & Festivities at the Private Estate of Charm Logan
32041 Del Obispo in San Juan Capistrano

Purchase your tickets Everyone!!!
For Thursday November 29th, 3pm-7pm

A benefit for Nicole Brown Charitible Foundation with special guest Denise Brown
and TACA Talking About Curing Autism

$50 per person Advance Purchase
$65 at the door
or $125 VIP Package (includes admission and a $100 gift certificate for the Haute Threadz boutique!!)

  • Informal Modeling featuring new Italian Designer Collections: Cavalli, Save the Queen, LeGatte, Ohdd, Isabel De Pedro, Laura Stearn for Haute Threadz, accessories and more!!!...Cashmere Designs by Charm Logan, Christina Noelle Jewelry...
  • Shopping Boutique with over 400 of the season's most beautiful designs to take home!
    10% of Sales donated to the charities
  • Live Italian/ Flamenco/ World Music performed by talented Michael Battista from Los Angeles
  • Exquisite Rustic Cuisine by Travis Jones,
  • Wine Tasting by PRP Wine from their incredible collection of European imported wines
  • Valet parking for your convenience!

So, Take an afternoon...and step into another world!
We have created a very special day for you... you will forget you're still in OC!

Purchase tickets/RSVP or call Haute Threadz at (949) 218-1340

Please tell all your friends

Holiday Fashion Fundraiser in San Diego
Grab a girlfriend and join us for a wonderful day of fashion, food, shopping and FUN at our first HOLIDAY FASHION FUNDRAISER. All proceeds benefit TACA.

Saturday, December 1, 2007
11 am-2 pm
Handlery Hotel Crystal Ballroom
950 Hotel Circle North, San Diego 92108

  • luncheon and vendor boutique
  • fashion showcase
  • raffle drawings and door prizes

$25 per person (by Nov. 15) covers lunch, fashion show, raffle ticket and access to the vendor boutique.
Space is limited so register early!

Cash, checks, Visa, MC, Discover, PayPal (use 5osullivans@sbcglobal.net for PayPal payment)

Contact: Janice O'Sullivan, 858-336-1052, jmvos@yahoo.com

 
 2 TACA 3rd Annual Adopt a Family for the Holidays and Announcing Two More Medical Grants for 2007!
We are excited to announce our 3rd annual California Adopt-A-Family Holiday Campaign! The holiday season is a happy time filled with warmth, love, generosity and hope – and it is through the generous donations that we are able to launch and continue this much needed program. Read more.

Through California Integrative Hyperbarics in Irvine, CA, TACA is happy to offer the Families in Crisis Medical Grant. Read more.  

3 TACA Has Eight California Meeting Locations
Corona (Inland Empire)                                                                                 

Costa Mesa (Orange County)

Los Angeles (Newly Added!)

San Diego

Santa Rosa

Torrance (South Bay)

Visalia (Tulare County/San Joaquin Valley)

West Hills (San Fernando Valley)

 
 4 Jenny McCarthy – TACA Spokesperson – in the News

Number of news stories on Jenny from September 17 through November 12, 2007: ALMOST 450!!

Instead of listing each of these stories on the TACA enews please check out Google

Jenny continues to do amazing things to help TACA and the autism community. Here is the latest regarding Jenny McCarthy:

Check out the Latest Video Blog (Updated!)

See Latest Speaking & Media Tour Engagements (Updated!)

Pictures from Ante up for Autism and TACA’s 4th Annual Picnic

People Magazines Video Blog on Jenny

See Jenny’s Evan for yourself!!

CNN Features Jenny McCarthy

By Jenny McCarthy
Special to CNN

Editor's note: Jenny McCarthy is an actress and author of the new book Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism (Dutton). She talks about her son's autism on"Larry King Live" in September.

I didn't know what was going on with my son Evan. One day he was a completely healthy 2-year-old and the next he kept having life-threatening seizures.

Countless doctors and hospitals couldn't get to the bottom of it, and no one could figure out the right diagnosis. We continued trying different anti-seizure medicines, but they either made Evan act psychotic or like a zombie. Finally, I got an appointment to see the best pediatric neurologist in Los Angeles.

I was beyond nervous in the doctor's office. My heart was beating so loudly that I bet Evan thought it was a drum in the next room.

When the door opened and a sweet older man walked in, I immediately felt good. I started telling him about all the seizure activity and what had been said so far about Evan. He listened closely but had his eyes on Evan the whole time. I could tell he was evaluating Evan and his bizarre behavior.

He asked me a couple of questions and seemed very peaceful about the whole thing. I was starting to feel more relaxed as he played with Evan, and then he stood up and opened his office door and told his secretary to cancel his next appointment. I thought to myself, "Wow, he must really like us. This is some big VIP treatment."

He closed the door and pulled his chair up close to mine and put his hand on my hand. He looked at me with sorrowful eyes and said, "I'm sorry, your son has autism."

I just stared at the doctor while remembering all the signs that led up to this moment. I felt each membrane and vein in my heart shattering into a million pieces. Nothing prepared me for this. I couldn't breathe. I wanted it gone. I had been through so much with seizures and psychotic reactions to meds. I looked at the doctor with pleading, tearful eyes, "This can't be. He is very loving and sweet and not anything like 'Rain Man.' "

"Every child is different," he said. "Some aren't as severe as others."

"I don't understand. How can this be? How can you tell just in a few minutes?"

He looked at me and then pointed to what Evan had made in the corner. Evan had taken those ear cones they use to look inside your ears and made the most perfect row lined up across the room.

"Does he line toys up at home instead of playing with them?" he asked.

"Yes, but don't all kids do that?"

"Nope, not all," he said. "And they all don't flap their arms like
that either."

I looked at Evan and saw that he was "flapping his wings." I said, "Oh no, he just does that when he gets excited."

"That is called a stim," he said.

"A what?"

"A stim. Self-stimulatory behaviors. It's an autistic trait," he said.

I looked at Evan and saw him flapping and once again had my heart shattered. I had always looked at it like an adorable Evan characteristic, so cute and unique that I even called him my little bird.

I almost felt betrayed, like I didn't know this child standing in front of me. Everything I thought was cute was a sign of autism and I felt tricked. I guess the doctor sensed this from me because he turned my head back toward him and said, "He is still the same boy you came in here with."

No, in my eyes he wasn't. This was not Evan. Evan was locked inside this label, and I didn't know if I would ever get to know who Evan really was. All the behaviors I had thought were personality traits were autism characteristics, and that's all I had. Where was my son, and how the hell do I get him back?

I turned into a detective, and thanks to a ton of Google research, the support of UCLA and my DAN! (Defeat Autism Now) doctor, I found the treatments that worked for Evan.

Evan is now 5 years old and able to communicate completely. Since we can talk, I ask him questions that I so badly wanted to know the answers to during the crisis. When I asked him why he flaps his arms, he replied, "Because I get so excited and then I fly just like the angels do."

Not all children with autism will be able to make leaps like Evan. Some parents have worked longer and harder than I have, with no success, trying the exact same things.

I have no idea why some treatments work on some kids and not on others. But I beg moms and dads to at least try. I will work my ass off raising awareness for autism and banging down doors to get answers.

In the meantime, don't give up hope and remember that acceptance of your child's condition does not mean giving up; it's just simply loving your child for being the perfect little spirit he or she is.

That was the shift I had experienced before Evan's healing even began. Faith is what continues to keep me moving forward.

Atlanta, We Have a Problem (and her name is Jenny McCarthy)
By J.B. Handley

Help Wanted: Director of Media Relations for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control. Must be able to spin cow pies into gold and make pigs fly. Need you today!

In the always hot autism-vaccine debate, the CDC has taken their share of hits in recent years: David Kirby's release of Evidence of Harm, Dan Olmsted's consistently logical reporting for UPI (and now the Rescue Post), screaming parents in front of CDC headquarters, and a full page ad we ran in USA Today in 2006 blaming the CDC for causing the autism epidemic.

But, CDC has never met the category 5 shit-storm that blew into town yesterday after two angry moms, Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete, appeared on Oprah (the last truly national TV show in our new media world, with an estimated 10 million daily viewers).

The fun is just beginning. According to TACA's website, where Ms.McCarthy now serves as national spokesperson, she is scheduled to appear in the next 10 days on Larry King Live, 20/20, Good Morning  America, and The View. Kim Stagliano has listed Jenny's media schedule in a post earlier this week, scroll down to see it.

To add insult to injury, Ms. McCarthy's book, Louder Than Words, is climbing the charts. At Amazon.com, she's up to #8, and over at Barnes & Noble, she's already #2! If you liked the Oprah interview, you'll love the book, because Ms. McCarthy leaves nothing unsaid.

What's extraordinary about Ms. McCarthy's media blitz isn't just that she's a celebrity talking about autism on our terms, it's that she's talking about biomedical recovery for her son. While Don and Deirdre Imus did us all a huge favor with their advocacy, they never addressed our community's true trump card: recovered children.

Not only is Jenny doing that, she's doing that while being a former Playmate of the Year, a popular comedic actress, dating Jim Carrey, and presiding over a collection of national bestsellers about being a Mom.

If you missed it, here's a little excerpt from Oprah's show that they put up on Oprah.com last night:

In recent years, the number of children diagnosed with autism has risen from 1 in every 500 children to 1 in 150-and science has not discovered a reason why. Jenny says she believes that childhood vaccinations may play a part. "What number will it take for people just to start listening to what the mothers of children who have seen autism have been saying for years, which is, 'We vaccinated our baby and something happened."

Jenny says even before Evan received his vaccines, she tried to talk to her pediatrician about it. "Right before his MMR shot, I said to the doctor, 'I have a very bad feeling about this shot. This is the autism shot, isn't it?' And he said, 'No, that is ridiculous. It is a mother's desperate attempt to blame something,' and he swore at me, and then the nurse gave [Evan] the shot," she says. "And I remember going, 'Oh, God, I hope he's right.' And soon thereafter- boom-the soul's gone from his eyes."

Despite her belief, Jenny says she is not against vaccines. "I am all for them, but there needs to be a safer vaccine schedule. There needs to be something done. The fact that the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] acts as if these vaccines are one size fits all is just crazy to me," she says. "People need to start listening to what the moms have been saying."

Oprah actually read a statement from the CDC. It was painful to listen to, and I'm sure the nation's bullshit meter went on high alert given how qualified it was. Interestingly, the statement focused exclusively on Thimerosal in vaccines, even though Ms. McCarthy blamed the MMR for her son's regression, a Thimerosal-free vaccine.

This is the only play left in the CDC's playbook, as I mentioned in a post back in August, The Thimerosal Shield, where I noted, "they [CDC] know that Thimerosal is only one of the possible ways that the vaccine schedule could be the primary trigger behind the autism epidemic, but the spin seems to be, `It's not Thimerosal so we should no longer consider vaccines' despite the fact that neither point is true."

I'm popping the popcorn, snuggling the chair up to the TV, and looking forward to the next few weeks. The Category 5 shit-storm is just getting started, and we're all going to enjoy watching Ms. McCarthy yell "Louder Than Words."

J.B.Handley is co-founder of Generation Rescue.

5 General News
Article A American Academy of Pediatrics change their standards of care

October 29, 2007 –
American Academy of Pediatrics released updates to their Autism standards of care.
Please see the following links for details:

Autism report

New American Academy of Pediatric Standards (PDF)

Doctors: Test kids twice for autism by the age of 2

By Lindsey Tanner | Associated Press

October 29, 2007

 The country's leading pediatricians group is making its strongest push yet to have all children screened for autism twice by age 2, warning of symptoms such as babies who don't babble at 9 months and 1-year-olds who don't point to toys.

The advice is meant to help parents and doctors spot autism sooner. There is no cure for the disorder, but experts say that early therapy can lessen its severity.

The call for early screening -- as well as symptoms to watch for -- comes in two new reports. They will be released by the American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday at its annual meeting in San Francisco and appear in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics and on the group's Web site.

The reports list numerous warning signs, such as a 4-month-old not smiling at the sound of mom or dad's voice, or the loss of language or social skills at any age.

Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have the developmental disorder.

"Parents come into your office now saying, 'I'm worried about autism.' Ten years ago, they didn't know what it was," said Dr. Chris Johnson of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She co-authored the reports.

A 2006 policy statement urged autism screening for all children at their regular doctor visits at age 18 months and 24 months.

Another educational tool, a Web site that made its debut in mid-October, offers video clips of autistic kids contrasted with unaffected children's behavior. That Web site is sponsored by two non-profit advocacy groups: Autism Speaks and First Signs.

The two new reports say children with suspected autism should start treatment even before a formal diagnosis. Recommended treatment should include at least 25 hours a week of intensive behavior-based therapy, including educational activities and speech therapy, according to the reports. For the very young, therapy typically involves fun activities, such as bouncing balls back and forth or sharing toys to develop social skills; there is repeated praise for eye contact and other behavior autistic children often avoid.

Dr. Ruby Roy, a pediatrician with Loyola University Medical Center, who treats at least 20 autistic children, applauded the reports.

"This is a disorder that is often missed, especially when it's mild, and the mild kids are the ones ... who can be helped the most," Roy said.

More articles

Editors Note:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) did something historic on October 14, 2007 – they went to a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) conference. Past AAP President Carol D. Berkowitz and Dr. Allison Golnik attended the conference for one day to hear Dr. Liz Mumper and Dr. Jane El-Dahr speak, have a two-hour meeting, and start the process of reviewing the DAN! protocol for children affected by autism.

This is historic. This is something that we have hoped would occur for years.  The dialog has started.

The AAP new statements that were published at the end of October are not something that was done in response to the DAN! Conference meeting two weeks ago. These documents and their imminent arrival were discussed at the meeting we had. They asked the DAN! doctors to respond with a rebuttal - which I assume they will.

It takes time to go through roughly 30 pages of documents (read larger document). These documents were under creation for more than two - almost three years by the AAP. Keep in mind - the Standards of Care for Autism have NOT been updated since May 2001 until October 29, 2007. That's a long time for a disease/disorder (depending how you feel about it) now affecting 1 in 150 children.

The relationship with the DAN! folks and the AAP is brand spanking new. The goal is to strive for answers affecting thousands and thousands of children through mainstream medicine. This will take a long time to make progress. The documents today were well under way before our initial meeting and I felt it important to share that with you.

As parents I recommend you respond to these documents with your thoughts and concerns. Even better - have your treating physicians respond as well. Encourage them to write the AAP.

An editorial on what is MISSING in these new standards of care will come out in the next TACA enews.

Article B TACA in the News: 4th Annual Family Picnic

Their journeys through autism

Children and their families gather at event that draws more than 1,500.

By BLYTHE BERNHARD

The Orange County Register

IRVINE – For one day, the kids could scream and throw tantrums and nobody would stare or judge. Even if they couldn't speak, the children with autism were understood.

Talk About Curing Autism of Newport Beach hosted their fourth annual family picnic Sunday at Hidden Valley Park. More than 1,500 families enjoyed carnival rides, bounce houses, crafts and other activities.

"For a lot of families, this is their only outing as a family," said Lisa Ackerman, executive director of Talk About Curing Autism, which offers information, resources and support to more than 3,000 families across the state.

"The problem we have is that we just look like bad parents and we have a bratty kid on steroids. For a lot of people it's so overwhelming to be judged every day that they just decide not to go out."

Many parents came to meet Jenny McCarthy, spokeswoman for Talk About Curing Autism. The actress signed copies of her new book, "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism."

Mari Nalbandian said McCarthy inspires parents who are trying to help people understand autism and create a positive image of their kids. Nalbandian's son, Darren, 7, has autism and is in a special education classroom at Westmont School in Huntington Beach.

"Autism comes in many different colors," Nalbandian said. "People don't have to be afraid of it. If you have a question, ask."

Autism is an umbrella term for developmental disorders that affect each child differently but generally impact communication, sociability and behavior.

About 1 in 150 children born in the U.S. will be diagnosed with an autism disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the numbers are rising. Nearly 4,000 children received special education for autism in Orange County public schools in 2005, up from 400 in 1996.

One 7-year-old at the carnival could recite the state capitals. Others his age couldn't say a word. So much about autism remains unknown, experts say, including the exact cause.

"We do know there is a very strong genetic component because of the recurrence in families but clearly there is something else going on that is environmental at some level because you can't have a genetic epidemic," said Dr. Pauline Filipek, professor of pediatrics and neurology at UC Irvine.

Unconventional therapies were a popular topic of conversation at the carnival. Parents were thankful to see gluten-free, casein-free foods there. Some, but not all, parents say their kids' digestive health, behavior and speech improves when they eliminate the wheat and dairy proteins from their diet.

Mario and Ana Jimenez of Santa Ana tried the diet, along with supplements and intense therapy for their 6-year-old son Andrew.

"He's able to sleep now, and before he wasn't," Mario Jimenez said. "Now he listens but before he would just ignore you."

They were also grateful to hear about other families' struggles with appropriate education for their kids, and inspired by college graduate Albert Calleros of Anaheim, who was diagnosed with autism in 1978.

Mostly, parents were glad to see they're not alone.

"It lets you know there's a lot of hope," said Carlos Sanchez of Corona, whose 5-year-old son Marcus has autism. "You need to persevere because the kids need you."

Article C Mother Fights for Autism Services

http://www.ocregister.com/column/rocky-services-alison-1869664-says-pontius

By Yvette Cabrera
Register columnist

Everywhere we turn today, autism is in the news. Yet the question that's not often addressed in public, but that's on many parents' minds as they seek behavioral treatment programs for their children is: who is going to pay for the treatment for this neurological disorder?

Through the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, California committed itself to ensuring that children and adults with developmental disabilities receive the support and services they need to lead "independent, productive and normal lives." Our tax dollars are funneled to 21 Regional Centers statewide to do just that.

So what happens when a regional center tells you that your child is no longer eligible to receive state-funded services?

This was the question facing Huntington Beach parents Alison and Patrick McCloskey, whose son Rockwell "Rocky" McCloskey was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism last February.

Since March, Rocky has received behavioral intervention via the RCOC's Early Start program for children under age 3 and has made some progress with therapy, but is still substantially delayed in multiple areas -- according to five independent assessments completed from February through July.

In June, Alison requested an evaluation to determine whether her son would continue to qualify for services after he turns 3 on Oct. 6. Case law has established that while school districts must provide special education after age three, it's a regional center's responsibility to address a child's social, communicative and adaptive needs at home and in the community.

So on Aug. 10, after Rocky had been evaluated by RCOC psychologist Kyle D. Pontius, Alison received a phone call from Pontius. He said her son was not eligible to receive services because he was not substantially delayed in more than one area. The law requires that a child be substantially delayed in at least three of five areas of major life activity.

Alison was shocked and angry.

"It makes me so mad it hurts me that it has to be this hard. It's my little boy," says Alison, 28. "We don't have a cure, we don't have a cause. All we have is early intervention. All we have is behavioral services after the age of 3. That's all we have to hang on to, to hope our kids get better. And then the regional center takes that away from us too."

Prior to this decision, Alison says she was repeatedly told by regional center staff that after age 3 it was her school district's responsibility to provide Rocky's behavioral services. The RCOC declined to comment.

Interviews with special education attorneys, parents, and independent psychologists indicate that Rocky's case is not an isolated one. Advocate Debra Borden, of We Are Kids First Inc. in Irvine, was paid by the McCloskeys to represent them in challenging the RCOC's ineligibility decision.

"Many parents are being told right around age 3 that the school district takes over and some are blatantly being told that the regional center doesn't offer services after age 3," says Borden. "…I'm talking about children where it's blatant, where they are severely disabled."

In the last six months she's represented about a dozen families from all regions of Orange County who have experienced this.

Borden says she was disturbed by the way Pontius evaluated Rocky's case. When he went to the McCloskey's home, Pontius mistakenly assumed that Alison's sister was Rocky's therapist and further claimed that during the visit he had reviewed Rocky's data sheets from his therapy provider, Autism Spectrum Therapies (AST).

However, when Borden investigated with AST, the agency told her Pontius had not reviewed Rocky's reports at the McCloskey's house.

"I was just annoyed that for a decision involving a child that is so important and decisive for support that he and his family will be getting in the future, that this was a very non-professional somewhat casual approach to it," says Borden.

After Borden and Alison met with the RCOC on Aug. 29, the agency agreed to have Pontius reassess the case and interview Rocky's therapy providers. Two days after that meeting, Pontius called Alison to tell her that he had reversed his decision and that Rocky would be eligible for RCOC-funded services after age 3.

The decision was a relief for the McCloskeys but the legal fees strained their budget and the stress was overwhelming, says Alison, an Orange Coast Community College student. "I spend so much time on the phone with these people fighting and arguing…I feel like it's never going to be over. I literally dream about this being over," says Alison, who dropped two of her three classes this fall as a result.

Jan Blacher, an autism expert and professor at the UC Riverside Graduate School of Education, says that experiences like these create stress for parents on multiple levels.

"A child's maladaptive behavior is the single biggest stressor and if it's not abated by early intervention what happens with parents with children with autism? They become stressed with the service delivery system," says Blacher. "We as educators, the regional centers, those of us who are supposed to be doing our job to prevent this kind of stress, actually contribute to it. Denial of services sends families into a tailspin."

In April, Blacher founded the SEARCH family autism resource center at UC Riverside (Support, Education, Advocacy, Resources, Communication, Hope) to connect families to the services their children are entitled to receive.

In Rocky's case, thanks to his mother's persistence, he'll continue to receive services through the RCOC, but what about those parents who don't have the time or wherewithal to challenge an unjust decision? Who will speak for them?

Contact the writer: Contact SEARCH at (951)-827-3849. Contact the writer at ycabrera@ocregister.com or 714-796-3649.

Agency shows pattern of denying autism services

By Yvette Cabrera
Register columnist

In legal decisions made over the past four years, judges from California's
Office of Administrative Hearings have determined that the Regional Center
of Orange County has repeatedly violated state law in denying behavioral
services to children with autism who had been found to urgently need these
services.

One judge went so far as to say that the RCOC has a policy of denying
behavioral services to children over the age of 3. In at least four OAH fair
hearing decisions from 2004 to 2007, the OAH judges ordered the agency to
reimburse parents retroactively for thousands of dollars the families had
paid to provide their children with one-on-one applied behavioral analysis
therapy, or ABA.

The RCOC ³has operated under a policy of not providing ABA services. It has
attempted to justify that claim with the assertion that behavioral services
are to be provided to children over the age of three by the schools, as the
generic resource, and that the Service Agency does not provide those
services. That policy is contrary to the law, and was applied in this case
to the detriment of Claimant,² wrote Judge Joseph D. Montoya in his July
2004 decision in the Justin C. versus the RCOC fair hearing.

The RCOC declined to comment, but statistics they provided me show that for
the fiscal year 2005-06, the RCOC reviewed 1,791 children to determine
whether they would be eligible for services after age 3 under the state law
known as the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act.

Of those 1,791 children, only 227 children, or 13 percent, were found
eligible, meaning that 87 percent were denied services after age 3. Of those
227 eligible children, 93, or 41 percent, had an autism diagnosis.

Special education attorneys in Orange County and Los Angeles County, who
have represented families on this issue in either fair hearings or
mediations with the RCOC, say the agency continues to deny children based on
the same rationale that OAH judges have established is illegal.

³The unwritten policy is: turn away as many people as you can and see if
they come back and try to fight with you. You exclude a lot of people that
way,² said Bonnie Z. Yates, a Culver City-based special education attorney
who represented three Orange County families in fair hearings where the OAH
judges ordered reimbursement and granted the appeals filed by the parents.

The reimbursements ranged from $56,000 to more than $80,000, said Yates.
³I told the regional center, if this keeps happening ­ It¹s happened
numerous times as evidenced by these three cases ­ I¹ll be able to prove
there¹s a pattern,² said Yates. ³Since that time, what has happened, though,
is that the regional center treats families one way when people are looking
and the family has an attorney. And when they don¹t have an attorney, they
still deny them behavioral intervention services.²

The resources being used by the RCOC to do legal battle with these families
are, by the way, state tax dollars that are funneled from California¹s
Department of Developmental Services, or DDS. The question is: Why doesn¹t
the RCOC use these funds to provide services instead of battling parents?
DDS, which contracts with the state¹s 21 regional centers to provide
services to people with developmental disabilities, says it¹s taking a
closer look at the unusual number of overturned fair hearings and
retroactive payments ordered by the OAH judges.

³What we found with Orange County is they seem to have a disproportionate
number of these retroactive payments,² said Dale Sorbello, special assistant
to DDS Director Terri Delgadillo. ³We don¹t know what¹s going on down there.
It could be any number of factors.²

Regarding one OAH judge¹s decision criticizing the RCOC for having an
unwritten policy of denying services to children after age three, Sorbello
responded: ³Any time when we see a statement like that, that would suggest
that a regional center is engaging in a practice that is inconsistent with
their written policy - that would cause us some concern.²

Huntington Beach special education attorney Paul Roberts said that his firm
has received 16 requests for representation against the RCOC from January to
June alone, and that 12 of those requests involved cases where children were
deemed ineligible for services after age 3.

³In my opinion, there¹s an unwritten policy to deny anyone who is not
severely autistic,² says Roberts. ³I find it fascinating that 87 percent of
the children who (RCOC) say do not qualify for Lanterman Act services, a
vast majority of those children qualify for special education services from
the school districts. They are developmentally delayed, in almost all cases,
in areas of speech and language, gross and fine motor skills, social skills,
and adaptive skills.²

Evidence submitted in these fair hearings shows that the RCOC¹s service
coordinators, who manage the cases of each RCOC client, as well as other
RCOC employees, repeatedly tell parents that after age 3 it is their school
district¹s responsibility to provide behavioral services.

In his January 2007 decision in the Ryan G. versus the RCOC fair hearing,
administrative law judge Donald P. Cole wrote in his legal conclusion that:
³The service coordinator advised [the mother] (erroneously) that once a
child turns three, services become the responsibility of the school district
and not the regional center. These RCOC actions (and inactions) hardly
comport with a regional center¹s statutory obligation to provide advocacy on
behalf of Ryan with respect to his service needs.²

Judge Montoya was especially critical of the RCOC for shirking its
responsibilities toward Justin C., who was denied services after his third
birthday because he was not ³substantially disabled.²

Justin¹s needs for assistance ³have come second to the Service Agency¹s
unsupportable policy of attempting to thrust its obligations toward such
autistic persons onto local school districts,² wrote Montoya. ³The gravity
of this conduct is highlighted by the well-known scientific facts that ABA
services are of great assistance to autistic children.²

After the 2004 Justin C. decision, three subsequent fair hearing decisions
handed down in April 2006, June 2006 and January 2007 (Ryan G. v RCOC)
presented evidence that the RCOC exhibited the same pattern of actions. And
parents tell me they¹re experiencing the same issues today.

³It was awful. It was awful,² says Costa Mesa mom Caran Cope-Fahy, whose
twin 3-year-old sons were deemed ineligible for services in May after the
RCOC told her the agency was not obligated to provide services after age 3.
Independent assessments show Jordan and Connor are significantly delayed.
Cope-Fahy and her husband Tim have filed for a fair hearing and in the
meantime they are using their sons¹ college funds to cover the $16,000
monthly expenses for in-home behavioral services.

³It¹s now or never,² says Fahy-Cope, who is represented by Paul Roberts. ³I
don¹t have time to wait around for the bureaucratic (delays) because these
are children; these are little human beings.²

Contact the writer: The writer can be reached at 714-796-3649 or <ycabrera@ocregister.com>

Article D Scientists make gut-brain connection to autism

September 27, 2007 | 5:29 PM ET

CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/09/27/autism-study.html

Compounds produced in the digestive system have been linked to autistic-type behaviour in laboratory settings, potentially demonstrating that what autistic children eat can alter their brain function, say scientists from the University of Western Ontario.

They announced their findings Thursday in Ottawa.

Scientists are learning that the brain and body can influence each other, says a Harvard researcher.
(CBC)

UWO researchers investigated the "gut-brain" connection after many parents of autistic children reported significant improvements in the behaviour of their autistic children when they modified their diet, eliminating dairy and wheat products, Dr. Derrick MacFabe, the director of a research group at UWO in London, Ont., told CBC News Thursday.

Researchers were particularly interested in one dietary characteristic the autistic children seemed to exhibit, he said.

"Certainly, a lot of these children had peculiar cravings for high-carbohydrate foods that caused their behaviours," he said.

"We were interested in finding a link between certain compounds that are produced by bacteria in the digestive system — particularly those occurring with early childhood infections."

The bacteria produce propionic acid, a short chain fatty acid, which in addition to existing in the gut, is commonly found in bread and dairy products, MacFabe said.

To test their hypothesis that diet plays a part in generating autistic behaviour, UWO scientists administered the compound to rats' brains.

"They immediately engaged in bouts of repetitive behaviour, hyperactivity and impaired social behaviours which had close similarity to what parents are seeing with autism," MacFabe said.

When the rats' brains were examined later, they were found to have inflammatory processes similar to those in the brains of autistic children, he said.

"We found, looking at the rats' brains under the microscope, changes that looked a lot like what's occurred from autopsy cases of patients who had autism."

It's remarkable that a simple compound like propionic acid would have such a dramatic effect on "normal" animals, he said.

MacFabe said his research team, and scientists at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and Harvard University, are now conducting screening studies looking at effects of dietary changes in the general population.

New way of approaching autism

Dr. Martha Herbert, assistant professor in neurology at Harvard Medical School, told CBC News that the study opens up a new way of thinking about the disorder.

"Now we're learning that the brain and body can influence each other," she said.

Autistic children are increasingly being seen as "oversensitized," meaning "things may bother them that don't bother other people," she said. "We need to pay attention to this."

Treating a child's health should be the first step in addressing autism, Herbert said, rather than solely focusing on behavioural therapy, currently a mainline approach.

"Behaviour therapy is certainly important. But the child's health controls the bandwidth that the child has for being able to benefit from behavioural therapy. If a child is sick, they won't be able to focus."

Parents should watch their children closely to determine what foods trigger reactions and to consider removing those triggers, she said.

Herbert strongly advocates a balanced diet, consisting of all food groups, not just "bread and cheese."

"If you have foods that child is sensitive to in their immune system, that can set up processes that can impact brain function, and it can do so in a negative way. And if you remove those foods, that negative impact can stop."

Article E Regional Center Orange County: New Announcement for Families affected by autism

Regional Center of Orange County Expands Family Support Resources to Meet Growing Needs

 SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to increasing needs of children and parents, as well as growth in the number of people it serves, Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) has implemented three initiatives to expand and improve the support it provides to families struggling to raise children with developmental disabilities.

1. Special Education Advocacy. RCOC launched a program to ensure that parents having difficulty with school districts are aware that special education advocacy services are available to them through RCOC. These services -- one operated by Pepperdine University School of Law and another by Whittier Law School -- teach parents about their rights and responsibilities under special education law, and provide advocacy services on behalf of individual children.

2. Inclusive Child Care. To help address the shortage of child care facilities able to meet the needs of children with the most severe behavioral and physical challenges, RCOC has funded an important new initiative to provide licensed child care agencies with the training and support necessary to deliver quality care for these children. It is a team effort in which the YMCA (with 52 Orange County locations) and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) will perform assessments for children referred to them, as well as recruit, train and employ child care staff to provide additional support. These staff serve children at various sites, including YMCA facilities and -- through an agreement with UCP -- at Child Development, Inc.'s 26 licensed child care centers in the county. In addition, UPC and the YMCA are available to consult and train day care agencies seeking to serve RCOC-eligible children in their facilities.

3. Behavioral Resources. To assist parents overwhelmed by the behavioral challenges they face in raising a child with developmental disabilities, RCOC took a number of steps that build on the successful behavior management training it has provided for parents. Specifically, RCOC: broadened its policy concerning one-on-one in-home behavior services for individual children; worked to increase the number of behavior service providers so families have quicker access to help in this area; and hired several new board-certified behavior analysts to help families with these issues.

"These new approaches we're taking, and others we'll introduce in the near future, are aimed at helping families deal with a range of issues that didn't even exist decades ago," said RCOC's Chief Executive Officer Bill Bowman.

Regional Center of Orange County (http://www.rcocdd.com) is the private, nonprofit organization contracted by the State of California to coordinate critical, life-long services and supports to Orange County residents with developmental disabilities and their families. Developmental disabilities include mental retardation, autism, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.

Article F New California DDS Number on Autism Statistics

Special thanks to Rick Rollens

According to the most recent report released this past week by California's Department of Developmental Services (DDS) (www.dds.ca.gov), California's developmental services system added a record 1,060 new intakes of professionally diagnosed full syndrome DSM IV autism during the 87 day period from July 3, 2007 to October 3, 2007....a rate of 12 new children a day, seven days a week..... or one new child every two hours.

Never in the 40 year history of California's developmental services system have 1000 or more new children been added in any one three month period to it's system. During the past 9 months alone California has added over 2900 new children with full syndrome autism (as always, the numbers of new intakes ONLY includes professionally diagnosed cases of full syndrome DSM IV autism and DOES NOT include any other autism spectrum disorders like PDD, NOS, or Asperger's Syndrome). Keep in mind that it took 16 years (from 1971 to 1987) for California's DD system to see a total population of 2700 persons with autism...during the past 9 MONTHS alone California has added 2900 new cases.

Autism is not only the fastest growing condition in California's DD system, now accounting for over 60% of all the new intakes (the remaining less then 40% being the COMBINED numbers of new intakes with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and conditions that have as part of the condition mental retardation such as genetic diseases Fragile X and Down's), but; now there are more persons in California's DD system with a primary diagnosis of autism then with cerebral palsy.

Unlike any other of the conditions served by California's DD system where you see between 55-60% of those populations over the age of 22 years old, with autism only 16% of the population is over the age of 22 years old, 84% between 3 and 21, and eight out of ten between 3 and 18 years old.  

 
6 Vaccine News
Article A Excellent Flu Vaccine Information from Safe Minds

Fellow Parents,

A majority of the flu vaccines in the 2007-2008 season will contain the mercury-based preservative called “Thimerosal.” Thimerosal has been linked in animal research to autism.  Additionally, research has recently linked Thimerosal to heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.  We need to get the word out so that Americans will insist upon mercury-free flu vaccines.  SafeMinds is asking you to help with a ‘Spread the Word on Flu Vaccines’ campaign to reach the American public via email.  In order to increase the likelihood that your emails will be forwarded onward without being filtered as spam, copy the text below into an email as ‘plain text’.  Change the first paragraph to include your own personal story, which could stress the recent research on Alzheimer’s and Heart Disease if your loved ones have concern on those conditions.  Send the email to only 5 to 10 people at a time.  Do not include any links to websites in the email.  When done, we ask that you send an email to eksafeminds@gmail.com indicating the total number of people you contacted.  This will help us to determine the success of this email campaign.  Thank You!

Suggested Email:

Friends,

My son Luke had a severe reaction to his childhood vaccines and was later diagnosed with autism.  Through much research, I learned that his vaccines contained toxic levels of a preservative containing mercury.  We had him tested and found that he has mercury poisoning.  He is now on his way to recovery thanks to treatments to remove mercury from his body.  I’ve become interested in what other negative effects may be caused by mercury in vaccines, and have found that it puts people at greater risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Heart Disease in addition to autism.  So don’t take flu vaccines with ‘thimerosal’ mercury!  Please read the information below and pass it on to everyone that you love and care about.   … Scott

Top Ten Reasons to Avoid Getting a Mercury-based Flu Vaccine this winter:

  1. Avoid injecting mercury into your body.  Everyone knows how dangerous mercury can be to your health but very few know that it is a common ingredient used in flu vaccines.  A majority of flu vaccines this winter contain a preservative called “thimerosal” that contains mercury, the third most toxic substance on earth
  2. Protect yourself from heart disease.  Ohio State University researchers published in May 2007 that Thimerosal activates an enzyme that causes plaque build-up in the arteries which has been linked to heart disease and heart attacks.
  3. Reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.  A scientific paper to be published later this year will describe tests showing that mercury in the laboratory causes the same brain abnormalities found in Alzheimer’s disease.
  4. Play the odds.  An American has less than a 1 in 150,000 of dying from the flu.  An American is far more likely to develop heart disease, Alzheimer’s, or autism, all of which have been linked to mercury toxicity. 
  5. Stay healthy this winter.  The mercury in flu shots can impair your immune system, making you more vulnerable to infections. Good hand washing and avoiding those who have the flu are the safest ways to stay healthy this winter
  6. Prevent your body from becoming a hazardous waste storage site.  According to EPA guidelines the flu vaccines contain 250 times the amount of mercury that is defined as hazardous waste. And unused flu vaccine at the end of the flu season must be shipped back to the manufacturer to be disposed of as a hazardous waste.
  7. Take control of your own health while the government agencies debate.  The Surgeon General’s office recommended removal of Thimerosal from childhood vaccines in 1999.  The CDC has not yet followed the Surgeon General recommendation regarding flu vaccines.  The NIH reported to Congress in 2006 that there were serious flaws with the statistical evidence used by the CDC to support their position.
  8. Avoid an unproven and possibly unsafe health treatment.  The British Medical Journal reported last October that the evidence from a comprehensive review of flu vaccine studies shows that the flu vaccine has little or no benefit, and also that little comparative evidence exists on the safety of these vaccines.
  9. Prevent toxic overload.  Thimerosal is a particularly toxic form of mercury because it blocks the process used by the body to get rid of mercury and also other toxins.  One dose of Thimerosal could push a person past a “toxic tipping point”.
  10. Don’t be one of the last Americans to take a mercury-based flu vaccine.  Seven states have banned Thimerosal from most vaccines, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment in July that prevents taxpayer money from being used in 2008 to administer mercury-based flu shots to young children.  It is only a matter of time before Thimerosal is banned from all vaccines.

Please see www.safeminds.org for more information.

ARTICLE B CDC: Mercury in Vaccines Damaged Your Child. Or Not.

MORE FROM DAVID KIRBY

Posted September 26, 2007 | 04:50 PM (EST)

If you were informed that mercury in vaccines might double the risk of your son developing motor tics, increase his risk of "phonic tics" by nearly two-and-a-half times, and possibly cause speech, attention or behavioral problems in school, would you still allow him to be injected with the heavy metal -- which, by the way, is 100 times more neurotoxic than that lead coating on his Chinese toys?

And what if your government's most trusted public health agency, the CDC, announced it had funded a study that replicated the findings of a 2003 CDC analysis, which also detected an association between vaccine mercury and tics, and that researchers were now suggesting "the potential need for further studies" between thimerosal and the neurological disorder?

And what if the investigators also said they detected a small but statistically significant association between early thimerosal exposure and impaired "behavioral regulation" in boys?

Or what if they said that increased neonatal exposure (28 weeks or younger) was associated with "significantly lower scores in verbal IQ scores in girls," and "significantly poorer performance" in articulation tests among all children?

And what if the authors further noted that speech problems were also found in the 2003 CDC study, where they said thimerosal exposure was associated with "an increased risk of language delays" at one test site?

Finally, what if those same authors claimed that their findings "suggest a possible adverse association between neonatal exposure to mercury and language development?"

You might think that the government was getting ready to admit that injecting organic mercury into newborn babies was a dumb idea.

But you'd be wrong.

Instead, brace yourself for some gauzy, reassuring reports in the upcoming media cycle about a New England Journal of Medicine study on thimerosal and "neuropsychological outcomes," in which, we are to believe, the connection is nil.

"Our study," the authors concluded, "does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines (and) deficits in neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years." They did not look at autism, ADHD or other major disorders.

On a conference call this afternoon from Atlanta, CDC officials gushed that these data offered nothing but "very reassuring news" about vaccine safety.

The associations found were "small," the investigators wrote, "and almost equally divided between positive and negative effects." In other words, for every "bad" thing associated with thimerosal, there was a negating "good" thing, such as improved finger tapping, or higher IQ scores among boys.

Indeed, the authors reasoned that the "higher scores on the performance IQ tests in boys" who received the most thimerosal, "makes it difficult to draw general conclusions about possible effects of neonatal mercury exposure from vaccines on intellectual abilities."

(If they really mean that thimerosal increases IQ levels in males, then sign me up for a double-dose flu shot this year).

But there might be another explanation. "Children who had been exposed to higher levels of thimerosal were more likely to have mothers with higher IQ scores," noted the authors, who did adjust test scores for maternal IQ -- though it's unclear if their study size, (1,040 kids), was large enough to accurately conduct such a precise statistical correction.

The study had several more flaws, any of which may have served to bring down the relative risks of neurological outcomes associated with increased levels of mercury exposure.

For example, 70% of the families selected for the study declined to even participate, yielding an unusually low response rate of 30% (the ideal is 70%) and data "that may have been influenced by selection bias," the authors conceded.

Next, any child born below 5.5 pounds was excluded from the study, which doesn't make sense, given that an 8 pound baby injected with the hepatitis B vaccine at birth was exposed to 35 times the EPA daily safety level for mercury, (calculated by bodyweight) while a 4 pound infant was slammed with 70 times the EPA level.

The authors also failed to adjust for any treatments these children received for their conditions. All kids were enrolled in major HMOs, where they presumably were eligible for an array of physical, behavioral and/or pharmaceutical therapies. Remember, these children were vaccinated between 0-2 years, but evaluated at 7-10 years. By not accounting for potentially years of speech and other therapies, the investigators "may have ameliorated the potential negative effects of thimerosal exposure," they admitted, and "could have biased the results toward the null hypothesis."

Despite these statistical pressures to drive the numbers downward, the associated risk for tics among boys was a real standout.

Boys who received the highest amounts of thimerosal in the first seven months of life were determined by evaluators to be 2.19 times more likely to have motor tics at age 7-10 years, and 2.44 times more likely to have phonic tics, than boys with the lowest exposures.

Any relative risk between exposure and outcome that exceeds 2.0, incidentally, is considered to be proof of causation in US courts of law.

The researchers did not differentiate between "transient" tics, which go away within a year, and "chronic" tics, which can last a lifetime. Nor did they distinguish between "simple" and "complex" tics.

I know the temptation is strong to think, "Well, it's just tics." But I suggest consulting the literature, which paints a more disturbing picture, especially if it's your kid we are talking about.

The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders defines "simple" motor tics as "brief, meaningless movements like eye blinking, facial grimacing, head jerks or shoulder shrugs," that usually last less than a second. It says that "complex" motor tics cause slower, longer, more intense movements, "like sustained looks, facial gestures, biting, banging, whirling or twisting around, or copropraxia (obscene gestures)."

On the phonic side, "simple" tics are called, "meaningless sounds or noises like throat clearing, coughing, sniffling, barking, or hissing." Complex phonic tics include, "syllables, words, phrases, and such statements as 'Shut up!' or 'Now you've done it!' The child's speech may be abnormal, with unusual rhythms, tones, accents or intensities."

There is also the "echo phenomenon," (so familiar to autism parents) characterized by "the immediate repetition of one's own or another's words." Coprolalia, meanwhile, is a tic "made up of obscene, inappropriate or aggressive words and statements."

Severe behavioral problems are sometimes associated with tics, as well, and "there is some evidence that temper tantrums, aggressiveness, and explosive behavior appear in preadolescence and intensify in adolescence."

Finally, many children with both phonic and motor tics are diagnosed with Tourette's disorder, which frequently causes "aggressiveness, self-harming behaviors, emotional immaturity, social withdrawal, physical complaints, conduct disorders, affective disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, stuttering, sleep disorders, migraine headaches, and inappropriate sexual behaviors," the Encyclopedia says.

(Interestingly, Tourette's disorder is three-to-four times more common in males than females, the same ratio as autism, ADD and ADHD).

Now, if "simple" tics include head jerks and barking; and "complex" tics can entail biting, banging and screaming obscenities; and if thimerosal can more than double the chance of tics in boys; then Atlanta, we have a very big problem.

It's perplexing that the CDC can report replicating a doubled risk for tics in boys, and an increased risk for speech disorders and attention and behavior problems in other kids, and still insist that this is all "very reassuring news."

I posed the question on the conference call today, and got nothing even resembling an answer (an opinion that was backed up by a producer from ABC News Nightline).

So I will ask it again here.

Given that the CDC has just reported that thimerosal might increase the risk for tics among boys, how is it possible, in addition, to publish the following two phrases within the same report?:

"The findings...suggest a possible adverse association between neonatal exposure to mercury and language development."

AND

"Our study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury...and deficits in neuropsychological functioning 

Article C More from Dan Olmsted – The Age of Autism:  he’s back!

A Letter from the Editor

Welcome to Age of Autism, the nation's first daily Web newspaper for the environmental-biomedical community – those who believe the autism epidemic is a health crisis that requires urgent action; that autism is an environmentally induced illness, that it is treatable, and that children can recover.

For the most part, the major media in the United States aren't interested in that point of view, they won't investigate the causes and possible biomedical treatments of autism independently, and they don't listen to the most important voices – those of the parents. We will do all those things, and more.

Continue reading "A Letter from the Editor"

Olmsted on Autism: I'm not vaclempt!

By Dan Olmsted

If there is one word I'd like to see banished forever from the dictionary of autism cliches, it would be "emotional." You know what I mean -- "Lawsuits and emotion vs. science and childhood vaccines," trumpets a piece in the Wall Street Journal; "confronting the contentious and highly emotional issue of whether early childhood vaccinations might have caused autism in thousands of children," as The New York Times described the recent vaccine court hearing; "officials from federal health agencies and medical societies tried to calm the fears around this emotional issue," said NBC's Robert Bazell.

Read more

TACA is proud to be one of the sponsors to see Dan Olmsted’s work continue.

Article D Neurological Problems Not Linked to Thimerosal, Study Says

By SUZANNE SATALINE  Wall Street Journal
September 26, 2007 5:17 p.m.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119083835476340331.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Federal researchers said they found no link between a vaccine preservative containing mercury and mental acuity and behavioral problems in children immunized in the 1990s--findings that are not likely to end parental fear that mercury has caused childhood disorders.

The study of 1,107 children by the Centers for Disease Control explored whether a correlation existed between the amount of thimerasol exposure in the first seven months of life and performance on 42 tests measuring verbal, motor and intellectual acuity. The study did not find that those exposed to thimerasol consistently suffered in tests measuring word recall, hyperactivity, stuttering, intelligence or other areas. The study is to be published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

The study did not try to see whether thimerasol was linked to autism, a highly charged issue that will be the focus of another research project by the CDC to be released next year, officials said.

Anne Schuchat, an assistant surgeon general with the CDC called the results of the new study "very reassuring for parents' whose children were immunized in the 1990s. Manufacturers removed thimerosal from vaccines upon request by the federal government in 1999, after being bombarded by complaints from the public.

The study sought to calm critics by including on its advisory panel Sallie Bernard, executive director of SafeMinds, a consumer-advocacy group focusing on mercury's link to disorders. Ms. Bernard said she dissented from the conclusions, in part, because she was troubled that boys in the study who had been exposed to higher levels of the preservative faced twice the risk of having motor and phonic tics --including noises caused by an involuntary tongue movement--than boys who received a smaller dose.

The results, "are inconclusive and the interpretation of the data is too sweeping," said Ms. Bernard, an Aspen, Colo., parent of an autistic child.

Dr. Schuchat said that particular data will be studied further by the CDC and outside pediatric experts.

Paul A. Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said the findings on tics were "coincidental, not causal." In a commentary that accompanied the study, he bemoaned the alarm that has been caused by parents and the government since drug companies removed thimerosal from vaccines.

"The public has not been reassured. They continued to be scared of vaccines," says Mr. Offit, who has served on the board of Merck & Co. "It really diverts attention and resources from much more promising leads in the causes of autism."

The CDC study included children, aged 7 to 10, who were enrolled in certain managed care groups from birth. Researchers sought children exposed to thimerasol through vaccines in the 1990s, from birth to 28 days, in the first seven months of life and through the mother in the prenatal period. A small number of the children had not been vaccinated. Researchers performed 42 neuropsychological tests measuring the children's speech, motor skills, and intelligence.

Write to Suzanne Sataline

Dear A-CHAMP subscribers:

    On September 27, 2007 the New England Journal of Medicine will publish a study entitled, "Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years." For more than two years we at A-CHAMP have been hearing rumors of a new study that "exonerates" thimerosal, despite the fact that the study results were supposed to be kept strictly confidential.

    Now the rumors have been turned into hype - another government funded study that tries to spin data and clear thimerosal of any suspicion of causing neurodevelopmental disorders. The study authors claim in their "Conclusions" that "[o]ur study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years."

    The statement is plainly false. The study's conclusions do not reflect the study's data or the limitations of the study,

    Unfortunately we have come to expect misleading statements – some might say fraudulent statements – from studies emanating from the CDC and their associates. It is not merely the fact that the authors of the study are burdened by large conflicts of interests - almost all of the 18 study authors have worked for vaccine manufacturers, received money from them, or performed research on their behalf. What is truly shocking about this study is that it does, indeed, find significant associations between thimerosal-containing vaccines and tics, speech, executive functioning and attention, but irresponsibly dismisses the associations. The study did not even look at children with autism - that is the subject of another uncompleted study - children with autism may have been excluded from this study causing a skewing of the study results.

    Fortunately, an advocate from our own community was an external consultant to the study, participated in its development from the outset, and is intimately familiar with the data and methodology. She has dissented from the study's conclusions. In addition, our colleagues and fellow parents at Safe Minds will be issuing a critique of the study in the near future. We are also told that the study data will be made publicly available so that independent researchers may examine it and draw their own conclusions.

    Although detailed analysis of the study is beyond the scope of this letter below are some key points that, cause us to distrust this study as another attempt to manipulate the scientific and public debate on thimerosal to the detriment of the health and safety of America's children:

1. The Study's Claim of No Causality is Contrary to the Study's Data

The study authors claim that the data disproves causality when in fact, several findings show a negative effect on neuropsychological functioning warranting more study. At least one such adverse association was also found to be associated with low dose thimerosal exposure in two studies done recently in the United Kingdom. As with earlier studies hyped by vaccine promoters, the study is unable to prove or disprove causality. The blanket dismissal of the troubling neuropsychological outcomes in this study is disingenuous and misleading.

2. Children with autism were excluded from this study

The early media contacts we have received suggest that this study shows no association between thimerosal and autism. In fact, the study specifically did not look at children with autism. The exclusion of children with autism from the study may have undermined the power of the study to draw any conclusions about thimerosal.

3. The Study's Authors Misrepresent Previous Toxicokinetic Studies of Thimerosal

The study authors falsely claim that research by Burbacher et al. at the University of Washington (distribution of thimerosal as compared with methylmercury in infant monkeys) shows that ethylmercury is safer than methylmercury. But the authors focus only on the blood "half-life", ignoring data, showing twice as much inorganic mercury trapped in the brains of monkeys than from same dose of methylmercury.

4. The Study's Methodology has Serious Limitations Negating Any Conclusions Drawn

Major flaws that that causes a large underestimation of neurological adverse effects burden the study: 70% of the families picked at random for the study failed to participate in the study. This kind of bias in epidemiological studies is well known to distort even large studies of health effects. (See , for example, NY Times Magazine, "Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy" by Gary Taubes 9/16/07). It is well established that people who choose to participate in this kind of study are probably very different than those who refuse to participate (the "healthy person" or "complier" effect); especially when the ones who refused to participate said they were too busy.

Simply put: if you have a kid with ADHD or mild ASD or other neurodevelopmental disorders, you are likely to be busier, more stressed, and less available than the mother of a healthy normal child.  This phenomenon serves to amplify the effect of the "complier", the "healthy families," - those who do cooperate with the study - confounding or confusing the study's results. The only truly cooperative parents who were included in the study were those with relatively trouble-free kids

5.Major Conflicts of Interest Burden Almost Every One of the 18 Study Authors

Many of the study authors have either worked for or received money from vaccine manufacturers. Others are employed by the CDC, which has been criticized by an IOM committee for its inherent conflict of interest in promoting vaccines while simultaneously monitoring safety. Many of the remaining study authors have conducted studies for vaccine manufacturers. The conflicts of interest cast doubt on the validity of the study, especially of the clearly biased "discussion" points.

6. The High & Low Thimerosal Exposure Groups Too Small to Draw Conclusions

In addition to the number of children of the study being too small to draw statistically significant conclusions, the numbers of children in the high exposure group and the low exposure group were far too small to draw conclusions. Yet the study ignored this limitation and drew sweeping conclusions of no causality.

7.Vulnerable Children Were Excluded from the Study; Early Intervention Was Ignored

Children with a birth weight under 5 lbs. 8 oz. were excluded from the study further skewing the results, as these children are likely more vulnerable to thimerosal than larger babies. In addition, the fact that early intervention may have reduced deficits such as speech delay detected by neuropsychological testing of children aged 7-10 was not accounted for in the study results. There also was no analysis of combined prenatal and postnatal mercury exposures.

8. The Study Fails to Account for the Subset of Children with "Efflux Disorder"

Only approximately 1000 children participated in the study, out of more than 3000 that were recruited. In addition to the "complier" bias discussed above, the study sample size is too small to accurately estimate the adverse effect of Thimerosal on the subset of the population who have a problem in mobilizing and excreting mercury. While the study's author's focus on the average time it takes for mercury to clear from the blood, itself misrepresented, we know that in 15% of the population this average is greatly exceeded. It is these children who are vulnerable to the effects of mercury from thimerosal. This study fails to account for the effect of mercury from vaccines on this subset of children.

These are but a few of the serious problems with the study and the way the data have been presented. We look forward to the forthcoming SAFEMINDS critique of the study and thank them for their continued close monitoring and analysis of the scientific research that affects our children.

In the meantime, if you see headlines stating that "Vaccines Cleared in New Study" or "New Study Finds Thimerosal Safe" know that we are all again being played, and that those who we should be able to trust are playing with the truth and the health of our children.

Sincerely,
Bob Krakow, for A-CHAMP

Article E CNN  - Read this before you get the Flu Shot

Health.com -- Nobody wants to get the flu this year. The dreaded, head-pounding, body-aching, feverish, nauseating, cough-fest packs equal parts misery and inconvenience.

Only about a third of Americans get the flu vaccine each year.

But nobody wants to get a shot that might be unnecessary or ineffective, either. So, while some experts worry aloud about a 1918-like flu pandemic, most of us -- well aware of the risks of getting the virus, from being sneezed on at the office to living with a toddler -- are not lining up to get the shot. In fact, only a third of us even bother.

The truth is, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and most mainstream docs are pushing the flu vaccine, the latest science suggests it just doesn't work very well. So, should you or shouldn't you? Here, the answers to your flu-shot questions.

How effective is the shot?
The flu shot is only as good as the educated guesses of a group of vaccine researchers across the globe. Every February, they try to predict which flu viruses will work their evil during the next fall and winter. Their three top choices are put into the vaccine. The CDC claims that vaccine will be 70 to 90 percent effective against just those strains of flu.

"We hope that these smart scientists who get together with the vaccine producers make the right call," says immunologist Dr. Randy Horwitz, medical director of the University of Arizona's School for Integrative Medicine. But sometimes they don't, partly because the virus mutates from year to year. In 2003-2004, the CDC admitted that it completely missed the virulent Fujian flu strain that hit hard that winter.

In the 2005-2006 season, in which the CDC said the match between the vaccine and the virus was good, a strain not included in the vaccine hospitalized 31 children in Houston. Also, two recent studies found that the shot may be less effective for people with weaker immune systems, so its effectiveness can depend on how well your body responds to the vaccine.

Will it make me sick?
Even if it doesn't work, it can't hurt to get the shot, right? For most people that may be true. Millions of vaccinations are administered each year, but since 1991, only about 26,000 adverse events have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Most of those were fever, rash, headaches, hives, or, very rarely, seizures. The most common side effect is swelling at the injection site on your arm.

And any bad reactions, thought to be your immune system's way of gearing up after the exposure to dead virus particles in the vaccine, typically ease after a few days. (Manufacturers are required to verify that each batch of vaccine used for injections contains no live flu viruses. But people with egg allergies shouldn't get the shot because the vaccine is manufactured using eggs.)

Still, some researchers aren't comfortable with the safety data. Dr. Tom Jefferson, coordinator of the Vaccines Field for the Cochrane Collaborative, an international group of researchers, reported last year in the British Medical Journal that he had found only six limited studies on safety after reviewing 206 studies on the vaccine. That, he says, is a surprisingly small number considering the widespread use of the vaccine and its mixed bag of ingredients.

Osteopathic doctor Sherri Tenpenny, author of "Vaccines -- The Risks, the Benefits, the Choices: A Resource Guide for Parents," cautions that only small populations and short-term info are used to measure safety. Adverse-events reporting, for instance, is done for only 2 to 14 days after an injection and it's voluntary.

Here's another concern: Except for about 8 million doses, the flu vaccine contains a preservative, thimerosal, that is 49 percent mercury, a known neurotoxin. While the latest research seems to disprove any link between thimerosal vaccines and autism in children, the debate still rages, and several states have prohibited the use of thimerosal in children's vaccines. Yet supplies of mercury-free flu vaccine are limited due to manufacturing capacity. If you want to avoid thimerosal, you may have to make a special request to your health-care provider in advance.

Is the nasal vaccine better than the typical shot?
Hard to say, but the latest news on FluMist may leave you skeptical. Earlier this year the manufacturer, MedImmune, had trouble getting an OK to market the vaccine for kids under 5. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found ongoing problems at the company's plant in Great Britain -- bacterial and fungal contamination as well as the use of a disinfectant banned by the European Union. Eventually, the company fixed the problems and, in September, received approval for the under-5 set.

Unlike the shot, this vaccine contains live but weakened viruses. When inhaled, these viruses can survive in the nose and throat long enough to trigger the immune reaction that fights off flu, but will be killed by the higher temperatures in your lower respiratory tract. The CDC does not believe these viruses can mutate into a form that can survive. The nasal vaccine is only approved for healthy children ages 2 to 17 and adults ages 18 to 49 who aren't pregnant. (Pregnant women and people with chronic conditions can get the shot.) The nasal vaccine does not have any thimerosal.

Federal guidelines on who should -- and shouldn't -- get vaccinated

Who really needs a shot?
The flu kills. Each year nearly 40,000 people in the United States die from flu complications like pneumonia and heart failure. And more than 200,000 are hospitalized due to flu. The people at highest risk have lowered defenses: children ages 6 months to 5 years, pregnant women, people older than 50, and anyone with a chronic condition like asthma, diabetes, and heart or blood disorders. The CDC recommends they all get vaccinated.

Your Health Tools

MayoClinic.com: Health Library

Healthology: Health Video Library

But what if you're healthy and are not in a high-risk group? Should you get vaccinated as a charitable act to help prevent spreading the flu to those who're less healthy? Or to prevent a few weeks of potential misery? If you live or work with high-risk people, maybe you'll decide that the shot is worth it.

You can also gauge your other lifestyle risks. We all know that spending a lot of time in busy public places -- like the subway or a gym -- boosts your risk of catching the flu. Anyone walking around with the virus can breathe it in your direction. And kids in day care or school are more likely to be exposed to the flu than anyone else. Just the simple act of living with them heightens your risk.

Is there a shot shortage?
You may remember the panic over vaccine shortages in 2004, when a major flu-vaccine manufacturer, Chiron, was unable to deliver 50 million doses of the vaccine due to bacterial contamination. Some experts speculate that the shortage encouraged people to stay away from the vaccine in the following years.

But Curtis Allen, spokesperson for the CDC, says a shortage is unlikely this year. Manufacturers are promising a record number of doses (132 million), although they won't all be available at once.

When's the best time of year to get vaccinated?
Now, before the flu season really kicks in from December to March, experts say. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for your body to build up enough antibodies to protect you.

Aren't I more likely to catch a cold than the flu?
For sure. There are more than 200 cold viruses, they mutate a lot, and virtually everybody comes down with one from time to time. Although the worst colds might feel like the flu, lots of people say they have the flu when they really don't. Two years ago, only 13 percent of people who were tested after reporting flu-like illnesses actually had the real thing.

Should I really worry about a flu epidemic?
Nobody really knows. The 1918 pandemic seemed to start like any old flu season, but within a few months the virus had mutated into a monster that killed healthy adults within a day. Like most flus, it may have originated in birds. That's why experts worry that today's avian flu may turn into a global epidemic. But, unlike the 1918 strain, it hasn't spread readily from person to person. And while the regular flu shot won't protect you against avian flu (it's a different strain of the virus), consider this: Researchers are finding that millions of people have been infected with avian flu without suffering serious complications. E-mail to a friend

All About InfluenzaContagious and Infectious DiseasesVaccines

 
7 TACA Frequently Valued Information – NEW

A new feature for the TACA eNews for families – Frequently Valued Information (FVI) The goal of FVI is to provide updates and “need to knows” quickly to make your life easier!

All the TACA enews letters have direct links and provide the actual articles content on the TACA web site!  You can easily search by topic and by author by using the SEARCH button on www.tacanow.org!

 
8 Upcoming TACA Activities
Just for FUN – once a month

Come join your TACA friends at PUMP IT UP in Huntington Beach, Lake Forest and newly added Rancho Cucamonga and Sorrento Valley for some good ol’ family fun! See schedule

 
9 Video & Audio Links
Missed Jenny McCarthy appearances over the past two months?

Some have been posted by others on www.youtube.com

Missed the TACA Recovery Seminar on November 3?

Watch videos from previous presentations

TACA Moms in the News TWICE!!

KNBC: Autism/vaccine story that KNBC in Los Angeles aired earlier last month

It was supposed to be a story on the Omnibus, but the producer was very interested in chelation.  So it ended up being a story on chelation.  I wish I would have known that during my interview.  I would have answered his questions a little differently. 

I think Julia and Baxter did wonderfully as did Dr. Hirani.  Baxter is so cute, alive and charming.  Dr. Batra really did not give anything definitive in the argument against chelation so that was good for our side.

KCBSAnd they are back again!  Special thanks to Becky, Julia, Carline & Cyrise for making autism THE story!

Hyperbaric Oxygen and Inflammation Video from Stan Kurtz

Windows Media Player

Apple Quicktime

Recent TACA Meeting: Autism as an Infection – available online

For those who missed the "Autism as an infection" talk by Stan Kurtz this past weekend at TACA Costa Mesa - here are some things for you:

His research paper

  • Read it
  • Watch it
  • A similar presentation was given at the USAA conference this summer.

Special thanks to Stan the man who volunteers an incredible amount of hours to help our babies (and a lot of times parents too!)

Dear Stan: YOU ARE APPRECIATED. Thanks! Lisa

Three New Video Presentations Added to Autism.com

The following video presentations are now available on the Autism Research Institute's homepage:

Dr. James Adams' recent talk titled 'Results of a DMSA Treatment Study.' This lecture was presented at last month's Defeat Autism Now! Conference in Garden Grove, California (Oct. 2007). For those who remember, ABC's Primetime Live aired a story about this research project last year while the study was ongoing.

ASA President Lee Grossman's talk at the Defeat Autism Now! Conference in Garden Grove, California (Oct. 2007).  Lee is the President of the Autism Society of America (ASA), and he discusses some of ASA's initiatives and ASA's association with the Autism Research Institute.

Andrew Wakefield, M.D.'s keynote address at the Autism Society of America's National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona (July, 2007).  Dr. Wakefield discusses the research on gastrointestinal problems associated with autism.

Autism + Red Sox = Memorable experience

Brought to you by AutismLink

Dear Subscribers:

I had to share this with you.  I got chills when I watched it -- and you will too.  It was Disability Awareness Day at Fenway Park and a man with autism was chosen to sing the national anthem.  About 1/2 way through the song, he started to have some trouble.  (Uncontrollable laughing.)  The crowd came to the rescue and helped him sing the rest of the song and gave him a standing "O"!!   I am now a Red Sox fan!!!  Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhcZRFcjbhw

 
10 Vendor Announcements
NEW GFCF Food Resources in California – Just in time for the holidays!

To make dinner time easier and special events festive with desserts and cakes – please contact these great new resources!

Azna's Gluten-free Bakery
Cameron Park, (530) 677-5810

Crave Bakery
San Francisco, 415.826.7187

Healthy Creations
Encinitas, 760-479-0500

Sweetie Cakes
Santa Barbara, (866) 203-1814

The Sensitive Baker
Culver City, 310.815.1800
(NOTE: This resource is considering doing a monthly delivery to TACA Costa Mesa meetings. Call their location for details.)

Your Dinner Secret
Woodland Hills, 818-888-6338

California Integrative Hyperbaric Center “Family Support Night” Group Meetings
Date: Meets the last Wednesday of each month
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Location: California Integrative Hyperbaric Center, 16251 Laguna Canyon Road Suite 175, Irvine CA 92618, 949-428-8878
Get directions from your location.
Information: Contact Julie Landon
Child care: Not offered at this time, sorry

BLOOD DRAWS & IV TREATMENT SERVICES

Kathy Head (phlebotomist experienced in autism) is now offering prescribed blood draw and IV treatments at the California Integrative Hyperbaric Center.

Blood draws with someone experienced and autism knowledgeable, complex test kits from multiple laboratories in a comfortable kid environment can make all the difference for necessary medical tests. Prescription from any doctors are accepted.

California Integrative Hyperbaric Center, 16251 Laguna Canyon Road, Suite 175, Irvine, CA 92618

For more information & scheduling: (949) 428-8878, (877) 244-2188, Ask for Julie Landon or Susan Kristie

 
11 Books and Web Sites
The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP
Sears Parenting Library, Paperback, October 2007
 
12 TACA Volunteer Opportunities

TACA has grown so much over the past six years and our amazing volunteers help make TACA do what it does for families. Currently over 100 volunteers allow TACA to run and serve more than 6,400 families. Volunteer hours are crucial to our operations and so needed and appreciated.

It is our goal to make volunteer positions available to those in our community (family, friends, vendors, and sometimes our parents) as times permits in our busy schedules!

Please consider :

  • TACA Librarian for TACA Los Angeles and TACA Visalia:  Attend every TACA LA meeting, bring all loaner books to the meeting. Help families select books and obtain the materials back from the families. For more information please contact Julia (Los Angeles) or Lynne (Visalia).

Thank you for considering a volunteer position at TACA.

 
13 Conferences, Seminars & Workshops
A. Kingdom Encounter

Kingdom Encounter is a small group who believe in Jesus Christ to heal. We have set aside a special time just for TACA members. Come join us at Yorba Community Park every Sunday at 1:00pm. We would like to pray for you and your child. There is hope in Jesus! Location: 4501 Casa Loma Ave , Yorba Linda , CA 92886 (nw corner ampitheater). More information. Please let us know you are coming.

B. Autism: An Inside-Out Perspective

December 14, 2007

Co-presented with Dr. Kristie Koenig, New York University

Radisson Midtown, Los Angeles, CA

Sponsored by Los Angeles Area School District

Contact Barie Spiegel: (323) 932-2605

C. NPART UCSF Symposium

“Medical Approaches in Autism. Clinical Implications of Environmental Toxicology for Children’s Neurodevelopment in Autism”

Friday, February 8, 2008

Sponsored by SF Medical Society, Commonweal, Collaborative on Health and the Environment and UC Davis MIND Institute

Concern is increasing that environmental toxins may play a significant role in altered development of brain and body function and general health. This symposium will describe evidence for this association and describe potential assessments and mechanisms for treatment and intervention.

For more information Shelia Opperman

 
Personal Note

I am still reeling from the amazing press coverage by Jenny McCarthy. Thank you again Jenny for all your hard work. It turns out – people are listening. I am getting stopped in the grocery store, at the bank and on my typical journeys with “did you see Jenny McCarthy on….”. They then follow it up with “she is such a blessing for families. Congratulations.” I could not but it better myself.

Oprah and Larry King best single two hours on TV in the past eight years. I hope that you all get an opportunity to watch these shows or catch the re-runs. If you watch 2 hours of TV this year – please watch these!

For the first time while in Chicago on September 17 – I got my first “Google” alert on TACA. Since that day – five national and several location press articles came out on TACA.

Here is another great article featuring several of TACA families and friends for you to enjoy and pass on:

OC Family & Inland Empire Family

The last 60 days have been – by far - they busiest I have ever been with TACA. Working 15 hour days have been trying – but it would be awful to not have the great TACA team helping. Special thanks to: our amazing TACA team and volunteers during this busy time. We are answering calls and emails from all over the United States and abroad. 

The best part of this story – is thanks to Jenny – that we are already hearing back from families we started helping in September following Oprah. These families have already started “the diet” and have seen a DAN! Doctor. Many families have children that over the ages of 12 years – are also experiencing positive steps with their children by investigating medical and dietary intervention for their child on the spectrum. Given the latest AAP report – I am thrilled to see some of the things we have been talking about for years – including gastro-related issues – are starting to be come mainstream.

My message to families is IT IS NEVER TOO LATE FOR YOUR CHILD AFFECTED BY AUTISM. If you need help, want a friend to guide you on some suggestions – please contact TACA. We are here to help you and your family.

Your friend on the journey,

Lisa A, Jeff & Lauren’s mom, Glen’s wife

And Editor: Kim Palmer (thanks Kim!)

 
 
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) provides general information of interest to the autism community. The information comes from a variety of sources and TACA does not independently verify any of it. The views expressed herein are not necessarily TACA’s. TACA does not engage in lobbying or other political activities.

P.S. TACA e-news is now sent to 6,429 people!

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